Safety razor



Dec. 5, 1944. N. TEST! 2,364,251

SAFETY RAZOR Filed May 5, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l N. TEST! SAFETY RAZORDec. 5, 1944.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 5, 1944 Patented Dec. 5, 1944 Nicholas Testi,Boston, Mass;,. assi'gn'or to Gillette. Safety Razor Company, Boston,Mass, a; corporation of Delaware Application May 5, 1944,. SerialNo..534',243

. 12 Claims.

This invention relates to. safety razors of the type'inwhich a thinflexiblev blade is flexed. transversely and supported. on. both. sidesin. shaving position by cooperating blade-clamping members. The,invention consists in a new and improved razor so constructed andarranged that'an openend blade. may be conveniently employed thereinwith entire safety to the user.

Safety razor blades of the: dpen-endtype, that is to. say, blades:having. a medial slot opening through one unsharpened end edge have theadvantage that While they may be employed. like a closed-slot blade insafety razors. having detachable cap and. guard members, theymay also beemployed in safety razors in whichthe cooperatil'lg blade-clampingmembers are. permanently connected at all times and have provision forlimited separation only, permitting the insertion of a blade endwise andin flat conditionbetween them. In dealing with an open-end blade havinga protective envelope or wrapper, it has'been. the practice to insertthe protected or covered. blade in the razor, engage or anchor the bladetherein, and then, while the blade is 50 held,. forcibly to strip thwrapper or envelope. from the blade. The present invention facilitatesthis. procedure by providing mechanical means for disengaging the bladefrom an anchoring device in the. razor and for discharging or ejectinthe. blade. to. a

position in which the user may readily graspit i and withdraw it fromthe razor.

In a broader aspect my invention consists in the provision, in a safetyrazor having cooperating blade-clamping members connected for limitedseparation only, of movable means constructed and arranged to beoperated from. outside the razor, or at a :point remote from the blade,for ejecting or partially ejecting the. blade. Thus the fingers of theuser are safeguarded from cutting and he is relieved of. the necessityof. touching the blade directly until after it. has beenprojected into aconvenient position. for grasping with an unsharpened portion. exposed.

As herein shown, one convenient mean of achieving the desired. resultconsists inproviding a movable blade-feeding device constructed andarranged by a single movement. to. release. the blade from its anchoringdevice and to advance it endwise in a direction away from its. open end.Preferably and as hereinshowma carrier member is providedintermediatethe cap and guard members of the razor having mounted in one. endthereof. a. rollby which the. carrier itself may be liftedsimultaneously with. rotation. ofv the. feed roll by which thefusedblade is ejectedv or partially elected' from the razor.

These andother features of the invention. will bebest understood and"appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodimentthereof,, selected for. purposes of illustration: and shownin the.accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig- 1 is a view in perspective on an enlarged scale of the completesafety razor;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the safety razor head asseenf'rom theand opposite to that; shown in. Fig. I;

Fig. 3 is-a view in perspective offthe safety razor partsand a blade inexploded relation;

Fig. 4 is a View in longitudinal". section of the razor. cl'ampedT forshaving; and

Fig. 5 is asi'mil'ar view ofthe razor showing the. used blade in processof' being discharged The. razor herein illust'ratedis designed for usewith an open-end blade of the well-known Gillette type, as best shownin. Fig. 31 This blade. IU'. is generally rectangular in shape andprovided in each of its four" corners with a. re-- entrant notch, thesenotches fo'nminga solid elongated and' unsharpened end' portion H at oneend and a similar divided end. portion f2 at the other end of. theblade. 'I'hefbla'de has a. medial longitudinal slot I 3 terminating; ina rounded enl'argement at its inner. end and. opening out through theunsharpenedendedge l2 at the" other end. of the blade. The. slot.defines'two similar side portions in the" blade which are" connected atthe end l'l byla solid hinge. Th'e'slbt has also a central circularenlargement or aperture I 4 for receiving" the cap" stem" and a pair ofintermediate diamond-shaped enlargements H's-shaped to fit, upon blad'elocjating' projections of various safety razors in which the blade isdesigned," for use. I

It will, be understood that the improved safety razor of my inventionisv not by anymean'slimlted in its. useto the blade above described butwith various modifications, alllwithih the scope of the present.invention, may be. modified to. handle open-end. blades ofany' desiredtype The. razor shown in. detail inFigs. 1-5 includes. inits structure atubular handle. Hi? to. the upper end. of which is secured. a guardmember. 'Ihismemher is generally rectangular in outlineand isprovidedalong. its: opposite longitudinal edges with downwardly curved: guard.teeth. H. The upper surfaces of. the. guard teeth on eaclri side: mergeinto a concave: surface: sloping; upwardly toalongitudinal rib l8; Theribs: l8 at. both:- sides: of

the: guard are: parallelto eachl other and. define between them alongitudinal channel l9 extending from end to end of the guard member.At one end the bottom of the channel is cut away in the form of arectangular recess and in this recess a blade-feeding device is locatedas will presently appear.

Projecting from the bottom of the channel is, adjacent to the end recess20 is a diamond-shaped projection 2|, having its upper face inclinedupwardly toward the right-hand end of the guard as seen in Fig. 3 andprojecting above the level of the ribs IS. The ribs l8 provide aguideway for the blade as it is inserted and fulcrum shoulders overwhich the blade is flexed in shaving position by the cap member of therazor. In the right-hand end of the guard member are also provided apair of square notches 22 for the reception of lugs on the cap. Acircular aperture 23 is also provided in the bottom of the channel l9near the left end of the cap to receive with clearance a pin whichprojects from the cap member.

The cooperating cap member 24 is also rectangular in outline andsomewhat narrower than the guard member. It has a transversely concaveblade-shaping face and a longitudinal centrally disposed blade-locatingrib 25. From the rib 25 projects a stem 26 which is arranged to passwith clearance through the guard member and enter the tubular barrel I6of the handle where it is engaged by a tubular nut 21, freely rotatablein the barrel I6 of the handle. The rib 25 is provided on one side ofthe stem 26 with an elongated notch 28. Beyond the ends of the rib thereis provided a recess 29 arranged in the face of the cap to receive withclearance the diamondshaped projection 2| of the guard member. At itsright-hand end the cap is provided with a pair of downwardly-extendingcorner lugs 30 which, in the assembled razor, pass into the end notches22 of the guard, These lugs 30 serve as end stops, engaging the notchesin the advancing end of a blade as the open-end of the latter is pushedinto the razor between the cap and guard members from its left-hand endand arresting the blade in shaving position. A retaining pin 3| projectsdownwardly from the inner surface of the cap at the other end of the rib25 in position to register with and enter the aperture 23 of the guardmember.

An intermediate carrier member comprising a bar 32 is designed to fitinto the channel l9 of the guard member of the razor. The carrier bar 32is rectangular in outline having stifiening side flanges and a clearanceaperture 33 permitting free passage of the threaded stem 26. At itsright-hand end it is cut away to provide the arms of a fork havingdown-turned ears 34 perforated to receive a journal pin 35 upon which isrotatably mounted blade-feeding means consisting of a roll 36. Thelatter, as best shown in Fig. 3, comprises two serrated disks connectedby an integral hub 31. In its normal or initial position the bar 32 liesin the channel IQ of the guard member with the feed roll 36 projectingdownwardly into the space provided in the bottom of the channel by thenotch 2|). In that sense, accordingly, the rotatable blade-feeding rollI3 is mounted in the guard member. In its left end the carrier isprovided with a circular aperture 38 through which passes with clearancethe downwardly-extending pin 3| of the cap 24, thus anchoring thecarrier 32 against longitudinal displacement in the channel IQ of theguard member. The forked opening at the right-hand end of the carrierprovides ample clearance for the diamond-shaped projection 2|. When therazor parts are assembled the right-hand end of the rib 25 of the capmember also fits into the open space forming the forks of the carrierand the notch 28 in the rib 25 provides clearance for the solid body ofthe carrier adjacent to its central aperture 33.

The threaded stem 26 of the cap extends into the interior of the hollownut 21 which is shouldered at its upper end and a headed screw 39 isthreaded into the end of the stem 26 and is effective to limit theseparation of the cap and guard members as will be apparent by comparingFigs, 4 and 5, which show the razor respectively in two conditions, i.e., in closed blade-clamping position and in open blade-receivingposition.

It will be understood that when the tubular nut 21 is turned in onedirection to separate the cap and guard members as shown in Fig. 5, aspace is provided between them into which a protected blade may bepushed endwise upon the ribs l8 with its open end in advance. When theblade is thus inserted its two side portions pass on opposite sides ofthe center rib 25 and the blade may be advanced until the shouldersprovided by its corner notches at its open end I2 bring up against thedown-turned lugs 30 of the cap. The blade is thus correctly locatedtransversely by the rib 25 and longitudinally by the lugs 30.

In this position the diamond-shaped recess |5 of the blade registerswith and receives the diamond-shaped projection 2| of the guard member.In arriving at this position, the advancing end of the blade ridesupwardly on the inclined surface of the projection 2| and when aposition of registration is reached the blade settles itself upon theribs H! with the projection 2| passing completely through theaperture l5of the protected blade,

' thus anchoring it against outward movement.

The user may now strip the cover from the blade by merely pulling itendwise toward the left. The stripped blade may now be clamped inshaving position by turning the tubular nut 21 to the limit of itsmovement, thus drawing the cap downwardly, flexing the blade over thefulcrum shoulders provided by the ribs 8 and clamping it solidly inshaving position as shown in Fig. 4. The blade cover is not herein shownbut may be of the character disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No.2,342,161 Muros and Testi, dated February 22, 1944.

At the conclusion of the shaving operation, the user first releases thenut 21, causing the cap and guard to separate to the limited extentpermitted them as shown in Fig. 5. He then presses upwardly upon theserrated roll 36 with his thumb or finger, thus simultaneously swingingthe carrier 32 upwardly at its right-hand end and rotating the roll 36in a counter-clockwise direction. This accomplishes two functions. Inthe first place, it lifts the blade sufficiently to disengage itsdiamond-shaped aperture I5 from the correspondingly-shaped projection 2|of the guard and it feeds the blade rearwardly or toward the left, advancing its solid end outwardly from between the cap and guard to aprotruding position Where it may be conveniently and safely grasped bythe user.

This action is suggested in Fig. 5, from which it will be noted that thecarrier 32 is shown as tilted upwardly about its left-hand endsufficiently to disengage the blade I0 from the projection 2|.Simultaneously the counter-clockwise rotation of the roll 36 hasdisplaced the blade so that its solid end H projects freely beyond theend of the razor.

As an additional feature of my invention, it will be noted that when thecap and guard members are held in clamping relation the carrier 32 ispositively engaged and held stationary with the feed roll 36 spacedsubstantially from the blade Ill. Rotation of the roll can, therefore,in no way affect the blade while the razor is clamped for shaving.However, when the clamping pressure on the blade is released by the capand guard members, the carrier 32 is also released and may then betilted to permit the roll 36 to be engaged with the blade. This featureof construction will be best appreciated from consideration of Figs. 4and 5.

Having thus disclosed by invention and described in detail anillustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent:

, 1. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members connectedfor limited separation only, and movable means mounted in one of saidmembers for engaging and ejecting a blade located between said members.

2. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members connected inopposed relation for limited separation only and a blade-feeding devicemounted in one of said members and having an operating portionprojecting outside said member and within convenient reach of the user.

3. A safety razor having cooperating members with inner opposed facesshaped to flex a thin steel blade between them, means for connectingsaid members for limited separation and rotatable blade-feeding meansmounted in one member and having an operating face exposed outside theouter face of said member.

4. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members connected forlimited separation only, a blade-retaining projection on one of saidmembers, and means movably disposed between said members for disengagingan apertured blade from said projection.

5. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members connected forlimited separation only, a blade-retaining projection on the lower ofsaid members, and a carrier movably mounted between said members andhaving an aperture clearing said projection.

6. A safety razor having cooperating bladetion only, one of said membershaving a guideway for directing an apertured blade into position betweenthe said members, a blade-retaining projection arising in said guidewayand having an inclined upper face for deflecting a blade advanced uponsaid guideway until the aperture of the blade registers with theprojection, a device movable in said guideway for disengaging a bladefrom said projection, and rotary means constructed and arranged to ejecta blade after it has been so disengaged.

8. A safety razor having cooperating blade- I clamping members, one ofwhich has a longituclamping members connected for limited separationonly, one of said members having spaced fulcrum shoulders and ablade-retaining projection extending above the level of said shoulders,and a carrier mounted between said shoulders and movable to disengage anapertured blade from said projection, and means on the carrier forlongitudinally moving a blade after it has been so disengaged.

7. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamplngmembers connected forlimited separadinal channel therein, a blade-retaining projection risingfrom the bed of said channel, a forked bar normally resting in saidchanel below the level of said projection and being cut out to clear thesame, and a roll journalled between the forks of said bar.

9. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members, means forholding said members either in a blade-clamping position of pressure orin separated relation with a blade-passage between them, and a bladeejecting roll bodily movable from an inoperative initial position out ofcontact with a blade interposed between said members into an operativeposition wherein it contacts the blade.

10. A safety razor comprising a guard member having parallel ribsforming fulcrum shoulders and defining a channel, a blade-retainingprojection rising from the channel, an apertured blade engaged with saidprojection, a cap member cooperating with the guard to flex said blade,a bar normally lying in said channel, having forks at one end and aclearance recess for said projection, a blade-feeding roll journalled inthe forks of said bar, and means for limiting the movement .of said barin the channel of the guard member.

11. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members, means forrelatively moving and clamping said members on an interposed blade, anda roll having a mounting positively locating the roll out of contactwith the blade while the latter is clamped between said members andconstructed and arranged to permit movement of the roll into contactwith the blade when the latter is released from clamping pressure.

12. A safety razor having cooperating bladeclamping members, means forrelatively moving said members to. clamp or release an interposed blade,and a carrier also interposed between said members and having earsextending in a direc-

